Tenant Screening Fee Caps by State: 2026 Landlord Guide

Two states ban application and screening fees entirely. A half-dozen more have tenant screening fee caps tied to documented costs. Several cap fees with a hard dollar ceiling. And a handful of cities stack their own rules on top. Here’s our latest attempt to break down key tenant screening fee cap provisions across the country.

If you’ve rented out a unit in the last year or two, you may have noticed the ground shifting underneath tenant application and screening fees. New caps have popped up in New Jersey. CPI caps reset annually in California and D.C. Reusable screening report requirements have taken hold in in Colorado and Illinois. And now a bipartisan coalition of state Attorneys General are pushing Washington for a new set of federal rules that would act as a sort of minimum level of regulation of rental housing fees.

Some recent news for 2026: New Jersey joins the short list of states with a hard dollar cap on application fees — $50, effective May 1, with CPI adjustments after that and real penalties for overcharges. The scope is perhaps narrower than the fear-inducing headline might suggest (more on this below), but if you own a 3-or-more-unit property anywhere in the Garden State, your application workflow may need an update.

This post walks you through major features of the 2026 landscape state by state, flags some of the cities that write their own rules, and lays out possible compliance patterns that tend to hold up across jurisdictions. It’s not legal advice. Every situation is unique and we strongly recommend consulting a qualified landlord-tenant attorney before settling on any specific approach.

First, the Terminology Trap

A lot of people who should probably know better tend to use “application fees” and “screening fees” interchangeably. The worst instances of this are when lazy legislators draft regulations banning “application fees” but then fail entirely to address “screening” fees. They’re not always the same!

In our minds, “application fees” are loosely a function of administrative load but in practice are just sort of tacked on because, why not? Or they are explicitly collected to cover everything associated with the intake and review of a tenant’s total candidacy for a rental unit. In this latter scenario, the application fee would also include funds to cover tenant screening: usually a background check and/or credit report. Landlords, tenants, and legislators alike tend to be sloppy and treat them all as synonyms, which results in much confusion.

For the purposes of this article, it might help to think about fees like this…

Application fee — a processing or administrative charge to cover paperwork, the landlord’s time, and marketing costs. Generic.

Screening fee — a specific charge to cover the cost of running a background check, credit report, eviction history, or similar consumer-reporting-agency product. Tied to (a) specific report(s) or service(s).

Some states ban “application fees” generically but separately permit a screening fee or fail to mention the latter category entirely, leaving it up to everyone’s imagination (and lawyers). Others regulate the whole category as one bundle. A few other states don’t touch either. Knowing which statute applies to which fee is a big part of the compliance battle.

Some Examples of Application vs Screening Fees

States that seem to bifurcate (ban the generic application fee BUT permit a separate, regulated screening fee):

Connecticut — As of October 1, 2023, generic application fees are prohibited. A separate tenant-screening-report fee is permitted, capped at $50.
Rhode Island — Application fees are prohibited, but a landlord may pass through the actual cost of a credit report and a criminal background check if the applicant hasn’t supplied each, dated within the prior 90 days.
New York — Any payment or charge for processing, reviewing, or accepting an application is prohibited. Background and credit check fees are permitted, capped at the lesser of $20 or actual cost.

States that attempt to regulate the whole bundle under one umbrella — Vermont, Maryland, Wisconsin, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, D.C., Maine, Washington State, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois, California. In these jurisdictions, the statutory term (whether it’s “application fee,” “screening fee,” or “applicant screening charge”) is typically interpreted to cover the full charge the landlord collects from the applicant, and the state’s cap or actual-cost rule applies to that total.

States with no statutory rule at all — The other 34 states, where the free market reigns, at least until and unless the federal rule making process results in a national regulatory floor.

The Fee Spectrum

The visual above lays out our six regulatory postures, from most restrictive to least. Red sits at the most-regulated end (fees banned with essentially no carveouts). Green sits at the other (no statutory limit). Purple represents states where fees aren’t necessarily capped at a specific dollar amount, but instead cannot exceed the documented actual cost.

The 2026 Map

State-by-State Breakdown

🔴 Red: True Ban

Massachusetts. State law spells out exactly what a landlord can collect at signing: first month’s rent, last month’s rent, a security deposit, and a lockset/key fee. Application fees and screening fees aren’t on the list, and Massachusetts interprets the list as definitive. The landlord pays for screening. Requiring the tenant to purchase or provide portable screening reports aren’t permitted either. An August 2025 update appears to have shifted broker fees to the hiring party, closing another potential workaround.

Vermont. 9 V.S.A. § 4456a prohibits a landlord or landlord’s agent from charging an application fee for a residential rental. The statute separately governs how the landlord must conduct screening, including accepting several forms of ID, a prohibition on requiring a Social Security number, and so on, but it does not contain a dollar-amount carveout allowing the landlord to charge for the screening itself.

A note on Vermont: We’ve seen some online commentary suggesting VT permits a tenant-paid third-party portable-report arrangement. The statute text as currently codified does not spell this out, and Massachusetts guidance explicitly calls out that kind of workaround as not permitted. If you’re a VT landlord relying on a specific third-party arrangement, confirm with a Vermont landlord-tenant attorney before assuming the workaround is permitted.

🟣 Purple: Actual Cost Only

States in this bucket don’t set a dollar ceiling for your fee, but they do require the fee to match your actual documented out-of-pocket cost for the specific screening products. Functionally this means “charge what the reports cost, keep the receipt.”

Rhode Island. R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-18-59 prohibits generic application fees but expressly permits the landlord to pass through the actual cost of a credit report and a criminal background check when the applicant hasn’t supplied each, dated within the prior 90 days. If the applicant has a current version of either report, that report’s fee is waived. The landlord should also provide copies of any reports obtained.

Maine. 14 M.R.S. § 6000-A permits a screening fee not to exceed the actual cost of the tenant-screening report or service. No dollar ceiling. Landlord must provide the name and address of the screening service and a copy of any written report used.

Washington State. RCW 59.18.257 permits the actual cost of the screening report or, if screening is done in-house, the actual cost of conducting it. There’s also an extensive procedural layer involving written notice of what information will be accessed, what criteria may result in denial, and the screening agency’s name and address. Adverse-action notices are required for rejections.

Oregon. ORS 90.295 permits an applicant-screening charge equal to the landlord’s average actual cost of screening, including the screening-company fee and the value of staff time. Landlord must not charge the fee if no vacancy exists, must refund if the unit is filled before the screening runs, and must disclose the amount and that the tenant has a right to dispute.

Colorado. C.R.S. § 38-12-903 (Rental Application Fairness Act) ties the fee to actual out-of-pocket expenses (or average cost across multiple applications), requires written notice of anticipated expenses before collection and a receipt after, and requires refund of the unused portion within 20 days. Separately, landlords must accept a qualifying portable tenant-screening report dated within 30 days, in which case the fee is waived.

Minnesota. Minn. Stat. § 504B.173 limits the fee to actual out-of-pocket plus value of staff time, requires written screening-criteria disclosure before collection, and requires written basis for any denial. A refund is required if the screening isn’t completed or the unit is filled first.

🟠 Orange: Strict Flat Cap ($20–$55)

New York. N.Y. Real Property Law § 238-a caps the background + credit check fee at the lesser of $20 or actual cost. General application/processing fees are prohibited entirely. Landlord must waive the fee if the applicant provides a background or credit check from the prior 30 days, and must provide the applicant with a copy of the check plus the receipt from the screening service.

Wisconsin. Wis. Admin. Code ATCP 134.05(3) caps credit-check fees at $25 or the actual cost of the report, whichever is less. Landlord must notify the applicant of their right to provide a credit report from the prior 30 days, in which case no fee may be charged.

Maryland. Md. Code, Real Prop. § 8-213(b) caps application/screening fees at $25. Any amount collected above $25 must be returned within 15 days of the occupancy decision, and the landlord can be held liable for twice the amount in damages. Landlord may retain the portion actually expended on credit check or related costs; unexpended portion must be refunded.

Small-landlord carveout for Maryland. § 8-213 does not apply to any landlord who offers four or fewer dwelling units for rent on one parcel of property or at one location, or to seasonal or condominium rentals. This is a per-parcel/per-location carveout — not per-owner, not per-portfolio, not per-state. A landlord with 20 units spread across five separate 4-unit parcels appears to qualify for the carveout at every parcel; a landlord with 10 units in one building presumably would not. If you’re outside the carveout, the $25 cap is binding. If you’re inside it, Maryland has no state-level fee cap on your properties — you’re effectively in our “blue bucket” on the Fee Posture Spectrum for those units.

Delaware. 25 Del. C. § 5514(a) caps the application fee at the greater of $50 or 10% of monthly rent. The fee must be used for actual application-processing costs (including credit reports). Refund of the unused portion is required if the applicant is rejected. Note the 10%-of-rent formula: at a $400/month rent, the cap is $50. At a $1,500/month rent, the cap is $150. For median DE rents, the effective ceiling often crosses into yellow-bucket territory on the Fee Posture Spectrum.

New Jersey. The 2025 Stack/Mukherji bill caps application fees at $50, effective May 1, 2026, with CPI adjustments annually thereafter. Penalties run $1,500 per violation, with $250 of each penalty going directly to the prospective tenant who was overcharged.

Carveouts for New Jersey. The new cap appears to not apply to rental units in single-family or two-family dwellings, and does not apply to New Jersey Real Estate Commission licensees unless the licensee is also the landlord. This is a per-dwelling-type carveout — tied to the property type, not the size of the landlord’s portfolio. A landlord with 100 single-family rental homes across New Jersey would seem to be entirely exempt from the cap. A landlord with a single 3-unit building is not.

Connecticut. As of October 1, 2023, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47a-4d (and related 2023/2025 amendments) prohibit generic application fees. A separate tenant-screening-report fee is permitted, capped at $50. This is the clearest example of the application-vs-screening bifurcation — charging an application fee is illegal in Connecticut, charging up to $50 for screening seems to be fine.

🟡 Yellow: Moderate Cap or CPI-Indexed

California. Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.6 sets a base fee that adjusts annually with CPI since 1998. The 2025 figure was approximately $61; the 2026 figure is pending publication by the California Apartment Association in early 2026. Fee is also capped at actual out-of-pocket plus reasonable value of landlord’s time. Refund, itemized receipt, and copy of the consumer report are all required upon request from the tenant.

Virginia. Va. Code § 55.1-1203 caps application fees at $50 — but “exclusive of” any actual out-of-pocket paid to a third party for background, credit, or similar pre-occupancy checks. That “exclusive of” language is the key. It means a Virginia landlord can charge $50 as an application fee plus the documented third-party screening cost on top, with the total routinely running $85–$125. Separate cap of $32 (exclusive of third-party costs) for HUD-regulated units. Refund of the unused portion of the $50 is required within 20 days if the applicant is rejected or the unit isn’t rented.

Washington, D.C. D.C. Code § 42-3505.10 caps fees at $50, adjusted annually for inflation by the Rental Housing Commission. The 2025 figure was $53 (reflecting 6.5% CPI-U increase between 2022 and 2024); the 2026 figure is pending publication. Any unused portion of the fee is refunded, and an itemized statement of costs is required when requested.

🔵 Blue: Light Regulation, No Dollar Cap

Illinois. No state-level dollar cap. Since January 1, 2025, Public Act 103-0840 requires landlords to accept a qualifying reusable tenant-screening report dated within the prior 30 days (prepared at the tenant’s expense by a consumer reporting agency, available free of charge to the landlord, and covering the landlord’s screening criteria) — and in that case, no application fee may be charged. Chicago’s Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance and Cook County’s RTLO layer disclosure rules on top of this statewide regulation.

🟢 Green: No Statutory Cap

States with no defined regulatory cap on application and/or screening fees include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

A few notes for this group:

Texas requires written tenant-selection criteria to be available before any fee is collected.
Florida has no cap but officially recommends limiting the fee to actual out-of-pocket cost.
Typical market fees in green-light states land between $35 and $75.

Your screening report might be missing a few things.

Criminal records are being sealed. Eviction filings are disappearing. Fair chance housing laws are changing what landlords can use for denials. Some states and cities are moving more aggressively than others to limit your options.

Our updated 18-page guide, Blind Spots: The DIY Landlord’s Guide to False Negatives in Tenant Screening, breaks down key changes across the 50 states to help you stay one step ahead.

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Worked Example: 3 Landlords, 3 Fees

Let’s run the numbers on the same $1,400/month unit in three different states. And let’s say actual screening service costs run the landlord $38 in all three cases.

Austin, TX (Green). No statutory cap. The landlord charges $50, covering the $38 screening plus a small administrative margin. No issues as long as written tenant-selection criteria are available before the fee is collected. Fee collected: $50.

Denver, CO (Purple). Fee must match actual documented cost, itemized on request. The landlord charges exactly $38 and keeps the receipt from the screening vendor. If the applicant produces a qualifying portable report from the last 30 days, the fee drops to $0.

Newark, NJ, 3-unit building (Orange, starting May 1, 2026). Hard $50 cap, CPI-adjusted. The landlord charges $50 — right at the ceiling — and refunds any unused portion. Overcharge by even $10 and the penalty may be as high as $1,500 per violation, with $250 going directly to the applicant.

Same unit in Newark, but in a two-family dwelling — the NJ cap does not apply. The landlord is back to market rates, often $50–$75.

This illustrates how the same actual screening cost results in different outcomes under four different legal postures. Which bucket a state sits in tells much of the story, but the carveouts can flip the answer for any given property.

Cities That Write Their Own Tenant Screening Rules

Seattle, WA. Move-in charges limited to actual screening cost plus move-out cleaning. First-in-time application ordering applies. Portable screening reports must be accepted. Managing rental property in Seattle is complicated!

Portland, OR. FAIR Ordinance (Portland City Code 30.01.086) limits the screening charge to average actual cost plus reasonable time, layered on top of Oregon’s statewide rule.

Berkeley, CA. The Rent Board publishes its own CPI-adjusted screening-fee ceiling — $66.92 for 2025 — which governs Berkeley properties. The 2026 figure is pending.

San Francisco and Oakland, CA. The California statewide cap applies, plus each city’s Fair Chance Housing Ordinance further limits the use of criminal history in screening. Other substantial restrictions also apply in these two cities.

Minneapolis, MN. Renter Protection Ordinance (§ 244.2030) doesn’t add a dollar cap on top of Minnesota’s actual-cost rule, but sharply restricts what may be considered during screening. Written criteria disclosure is also required before fee collection.

Washington, D.C. The $50 CPI-adjusted cap functions as the ceiling. See the Yellow section above.

New York City. The $20 state cap applies, with active AG enforcement and ongoing scrutiny of broker-fee workarounds.

Chicago, IL. No city-specific dollar cap. The statewide reusable-screening-report law applies, plus RLTO disclosure requirements.

What May Change in 2026

We think four developments are worth some level of attention this year, most notably any moves at the federal level to introduce a national standard of minimum regulation.

January 1 — CPI resets in California and D.C. The 2025 California figure was $61; the 2025 D.C. figure was $53. Both 2026 figures are pending publication by the respective state agencies.

January 1 onward — Reusable reports expand. Colorado and Illinois already require landlords to accept qualifying portable/reusable screening reports. More states are considering similar rules for the near future.

May 1 — New Jersey’s $50 cap is enforceable. CPI-adjusted thereafter, with $1,500-per-violation penalties and $250 tenant shares. The cap does not apply to single-family or two-family dwellings — but if you own any property with 3 or more units in NJ, you’ll likely want to revise your application form by that date.

Late 2026 — Federal push is developing. A bipartisan multistate Attorneys General coalition, led in 2025 by New Jersey, is pushing for federal action on “hidden” rental-housing fees. While the outcome is unknown; federal rule making timelines can often run 12–24+ months. Or way longer. Who actually knows anything about how laws get made these days?

On this last point, we think it’s worth pointing out that there’s nothing inherently wrong or evil about charging a reasonable tenant application and/or screening fee. By “reasonable” we mean an amount that reflects the actual costs incurred in the review process. But because some landlords and PM companies have decided to turn their application flow into a separate profit center, it’s now starting to jeopardize our collective ability to recover any costs at all. If you’re charging a $39 or $49 application and/or screening fee, that seems totally reasonable. It’s the $99 or $129 fee that sparks outrage, results in legislative action, and makes all rental property owners worse off.

5 Common Tenant Screening Fee Caps Mistakes

These are some patterns that often factor in when landlords land in hot water over application and screening fees. They often aren’t dramatic intentional acts, but rather small oversights that can compounded across many applicants.

1. Charging the same fee everywhere

The mistake: A landlord with units in Texas, New Jersey (3-unit building), and Massachusetts uses one $65 flat application fee across the portfolio.

Why it’s costly: That fee is fine in Texas, disallowed after May 1, 2026 in New Jersey for the 3-unit building (over the $50 cap), and flatly prohibited in Massachusetts. Each non-compliant application can trigger refund obligations and escalating penalties.

Fix: Set your fees according to property location AND property type/size (paying special attention to any small-building carveouts), not by company policy. State caps, city caps, CPI-adjusted figures, and carveouts all vary. Fortunately, most respectable screening software or online form handling applications should pull the right number based on where the unit sits and what kind of dwelling it is.

2. Confusing “application fee” with “screening fee”

The mistake: A Connecticut landlord charges a $20 “application fee” plus $50 for screening. Or a New York landlord charges a $20 “application fee” thinking it’s under the cap.

Why it’s costly: In Connecticut, application fees are banned; the $20 “application fee” is disallowed even though the $50 screening fee is fine. In New York, any general application/processing fee is prohibited. The $20 cap is specifically for background + credit check fees, not a generic application charge.

Fix: Label your fees precisely and know which statute applies to which. “Application fee” and “screening fee” are legally distinct in several jurisdictions. If your form says “application fee” and your state only permits a “screening fee,” the label alone can make your life more complicated.

3. Keeping the unused portion of the fee

The mistake: Charging the statutory cap (say, $50 in D.C. or Virginia), spending $35 on the actual screening, and pocketing the $15 difference.

Why it’s costly: California, Minnesota, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Colorado all require the unused portion to be refunded. Keeping it is an overcharge, and in some states the applicant can recover multiples of the amount plus attorneys’ fees. Maryland specifically allows the applicant to recover twice the overcharge in damages.

Fix: Itemize the fee, send the applicant a receipt showing actual screening cost, and refund the delta. If you’re charging at the statutory cap, assume you’ll need to account for every dollar.

4. Ignoring qualifying reusable or portable reports

The mistake: Charging a fresh fee even when the applicant offers a portable or reusable report from the last 30/90 days.

Why it’s costly: Illinois (since January 2025), Colorado, Oregon, and New York require landlords to accept qualifying reusable reports and skip the fee. Wisconsin requires accepting applicant-supplied credit reports from the prior 30 days. Rhode Island waives the credit and criminal check fees for reports supplied within 90 days. More states are adding similar rules.

Fix: Add a line to the application form asking whether the applicant has a qualifying reusable or portable report. If they do and it meets the statutory criteria, waive the relevant fee. Keep a record of the exchange in case the applicant later disputes it.

5. Missing the small-landlord or dwelling-type carveouts

The mistake: A Maryland landlord with a 5-unit building charges $75 for screening, assuming “small landlords” are exempt. A New Jersey landlord with a 3-unit building after May 1, 2026 charges $65, assuming the new cap doesn’t apply to small buildings.

Why it’s costly: Maryland’s carveout is per-parcel or per-location for 4 or fewer dwelling units — a 5-unit building on one parcel does not qualify, even if it’s the owner’s only property. New Jersey’s carveout is per-dwelling-type for single-family and two-family dwellings only — a 3-unit building does not qualify, regardless of landlord size.

Fix: Know the exact scope of any carveout before relying on it. For Maryland, count units on one parcel or at one location. For New Jersey, look at the dwelling type, not the landlord’s total portfolio.

Getting the Details Right

A few operational patterns show up again and again in jurisdictions that actively enforce these rules. Think of these as potential lowest common denominators to help you keep things in the fairway.

✅ Distinguish “application fee” from “screening fee” on the form itself.
✅ Charge the documented actual screening cost, with the invoice retained.
✅ Share written screening criteria with applicants before the fee is collected.
✅ Accept qualifying reusable or portable screening reports where applicable.
✅ Refund the unused portion of the fee, itemized.
✅ Set your fees according to each property location AND property type.

Operators who follow these patterns tend to be more compliant across various state and city regulations vs operators who wing it. While operators in “green bucket” states are generally free to charge more, keeping your fees reasonable and sticking to written guardrails helps us look good as an industry and avoid potentially harsh legislative action at the national level.

FAQ

Is there a difference between an “application fee” and a “screening fee” when it comes to tenant screening fee caps?

In several states there is indeed a material difference. Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York explicitly call out that generic application fees are prohibited, but a separate screening fee is permitted with conditions. Other states (Vermont, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, D.C., Maine, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois, California) regulate the whole bundle under one term. Labeling your fees precisely matters — in a bifurcated state, an “application fee” charge can be disallowed even when the same dollar amount would be fine as a “screening fee.”

Can I charge more than my actual screening cost in a green-light state?

Yes. In states without a cap — Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, and the 30+ others on the green list, the market sets the price. Typical fees run $35–$75. Texas explicitly requires written tenant-selection criteria to be available before you collect the fee, and it’s good practice everywhere.

What counts as a “qualifying reusable report”?

The exact definition varies by state, but some common threads include that the report is recent (usually within 30 days), the landlord can access it at no cost, and it covers the screening criteria the landlord would normally run. Illinois, Colorado, Oregon, and New York have the most developed frameworks. If all three conditions are met, the state generally requires you to accept the report and waive the fee.

I’m a landlord in New Jersey. What might I need to do by May 1, 2026?

First, figure out whether the cap applies to your property. If your units are in single-family or two-family dwellings, the $50 cap may not apply and you’re likely in the same position as before the law. If any of your properties are 3 or more units, the fee is capped at or below $50 (with CPI adjustments annually), you’ll typically refund any unused portion, and your application form should adhere to the ceiling.

I’m a landlord in Maryland. Does the $25 cap apply to me?

It depends. The cap does not appear to apply to landlords offering four or fewer dwelling units for rent on one parcel or at a single location. If you own a triplex on one lot, the cap doesn’t apply. If you own a 10-unit building on one lot, it does. If you own three separate 4-unit buildings on three separate lots, the carveout applies to each. The scope appears to be per-parcel/per-location, not per-owner or per-portfolio. When in doubt, confirm with a Maryland landlord-tenant attorney.

Does the state cap apply if I use a property management company?

Generally yes. State caps typically attach to the fee collected from the applicant, regardless of who collects it. Massachusetts explicitly closed the broker workaround in August 2025, and New York is actively enforcing against similar arrangements. If you don’t self-manage, talk to your management company about compliance.

What happens if I overcharge?

Depends on the state. New Jersey’s new law starts at $1,500 per violation, with $250 going directly to the tenant. California allows applicants to recover actual damages plus $100 per violation. New York’s AG has pursued landlords for systematic overcharges. Maryland allows recovery of twice the overcharge in damages. Even in states without specific penalty language, overcharges generally have to be refunded and applicants who sue can sometimes recover attorneys’ fees.

Bottom Line

With fifty states, six distinct regulatory postures, and a growing list of cities that add their own rules, this is a complicated landscape. The state’s color on the spectrum tells much of the story, but two other layers also matter: 1) the city layer (particularly in Seattle, Portland, Minneapolis, the California Bay Area, and D.C.), and 2) the carveouts within state law itself (per-parcel in Maryland, per-dwelling-type in New Jersey).

The terminology also matters. Getting the “application fee” vs. “screening fee” distinction right on your form is a nice compliance upgrade, especially in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York where the two are referred to separately and may carry different meanings.

The overall trend is clear. We should expect more caps, tighter enforcement, and a federal push that could reshape the landscape in the next few years. Setting up your application workflow to publish and collect the right fee by property location and type is probably a good habit to get started on sooner rather than later.

Disclaimer

RentBumper does not provide tax, legal, investment, or accounting advice. All materials are for informational purposes only and should not be relied on in your decision-making process. State and city rules change. CPI-indexed caps reset annually. Please consult a local landlord-tenant attorney who can become familiar with your specific circumstances before making any final decisions.

Tenant Screening Fee Caps by State

First, the Terminology Trap

Some Examples of Application vs Screening Fees

The Fee Spectrum

The 2026 Map